248 NATURE STUDT. 



drawings. As soon as we learn to observe accurately, 

 and to analyze carefully, the form of what we see, most 

 of the difficulties in simple representative drawing vanish. 



If language is the only means of expression used, 

 the child soon learns that he cannot express his ideas 

 exactly in words ; therefore he does not observe ex- 

 actly. If, on the other hand, the teacher insists on 

 exact observation and exact w.ord description, the child 

 becomes discouraged. He is expected to do what is 

 unnatural and exceedingly difficult. 



Children, even in the first grade, can discover and 

 often correct the errors they have made in their draw- 

 ings. The experience of the writer has shown that the 

 children in a firstrgrade room will almost always select 

 the best drawings among several made on the black- 

 board by different pupils, and will usually know why 

 or wherein they are best. They find much greater diffi- 

 culty in selecting the best word description. It does 

 not appeal to their eyes. 



With the older pupils the best way to test the clear- 

 ness and exactness of a description or word picture is 

 to attempt to draw on the blackboard from the descrip- 

 tion, to interpret the word picture into the eye lan- 

 guage. The pupils see at once the lack of clearness 

 and exactness, as they cannot be made to see it in any 

 other way. 



Drawing is, furthermore, the most concise means of 

 expressing form, size, and relative position. A few 

 strokes of pencil or crayon may tell more' than a long 

 description. 



